Anatol Knotek's concrete poetry

Concrete poetry is a form of poetry that has been around since the 1500s, and was originally called "pattern poetry" or "shape poetry". It is a type of poetry in which the meaning or effect of the poems are conveyed partly or wholly by visual means. The definition used to extend into the realm of visual poetry, but in 1968, Mary Ellen Solt identified that certain trends included under the concrete poetry label were shifting towards a "new visual poetry", and in 2008 Marvin Snacker extended her thoughts by saying "I define concrete poems as those in which only letters and/or words are utilized to form a visual image, whereas visual poems constitute those in which images are integrated into the text of the poem."

Anatol Knotek, an Vienna-based, Austrian born artist, is another artist whose work I can file under "Art that makes me go omg yesss". Knotek deals in visual poetry, a type of text work that I've come across before but never identified as an actual thing. His pieces are wonderful: funny and clever, but also really poignant and thought provoking.

time is running out (2011)

time is running out installation detail

when the sun goes down (2014)

signs of the times (2016)

HUMAN RIGHT$ (2012)

a rope ends it (2015) (look at the 'I' in a noose! So good!)

This isn't really anything to do with the art, but have you every played Dingbats? For those unfamiliar, Dingbats is a game that involves solving puzzles in which common sayings or words are hidden in the cryptic arrangement of words or letters. I used to play Dingbats all the time with my family when I was younger, and Knotek's visual poems really remind me of the puzzles the game had to offer. Go and check out the rest of Knotek's work on his Instagram and website.